In its latest high-profile departure, Olswang‘s head of international telecommunications Purvi Parekh has exited the firm. Continue reading “Olswang international telco head exits in set-back for LB100 firm”
Regional player Shakespeare Martineau post-merger turnover drops to £71m
Shakespeare Martineau has revealed its first post-merger turnover figure of £71m, down 6% on the combined figure of £75.6m for legacy Shakespeares which stood at £49m and legacy SGH Martineau which was £26.6m for the financial year 2014/15. The firm’s profit per equity partner came in at £236,000.
Continue reading “Regional player Shakespeare Martineau post-merger turnover drops to £71m”
Plugging the leak: Ashurst approves lockstep overhaul to retain high performers
Amid a turbulent period of lawyer exits and poor financial performance, Ashurst partners have voted through fundamental changes to its remuneration system in a bid to retain star partners, including a stretching of the lockstep and allocating equity share to salaried partners.
Continue reading “Plugging the leak: Ashurst approves lockstep overhaul to retain high performers”
‘Gateway for Asia’: Osborne Clarke enters association with new Singapore firm
Osborne Clarke has expanded its south-east Asia presence through an association with a new Singaporean firm, OC Queen Street.The initial launch of the formal association will see a focus on clients in the digital and fintech sectors.
Continue reading “‘Gateway for Asia’: Osborne Clarke enters association with new Singapore firm”
Baker & McKenzie lifer Chadwick to take City reins as Rawlinson steps up to chair
With Paul Rawlinson vacating the London managing partner post at Baker & McKenzie in October after winning the race to become the next global chairman, partner Alex Chadwick is set to take charge of the firm’s largest office.
Continue reading “Baker & McKenzie lifer Chadwick to take City reins as Rawlinson steps up to chair”
Latham strikes again: US firm takes Slaughters finance partner Warna-kula-suriya
In what is arguably the most high-profile partner exit from Slaughter and May in recent history, Latham & Watkins has hired the Magic Circle firm’s former head of structured finance Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya in the City.
Continue reading “Latham strikes again: US firm takes Slaughters finance partner Warna-kula-suriya”
Q&A: David Collins – Dentons UK corporate head on a fresh start, deals gone wrong and life after BLP
After his move from Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) to Dentons as the new head of UK corporate and co-chair of global M&A, David Collins (pictured) talks to Matthew Field about his new role, deal making and his past leadership bid.
‘Driven by client need’: Kennedys continues aggressive LatAm expansion with Chile and Colombia offices
Kennedys has continued with its aggressive Latin America (LatAm) expansion, opening two more offices in Chile and Colombia, following the opening in July of its first greenfield sites on the continent in Brazil and Peru. Continue reading “‘Driven by client need’: Kennedys continues aggressive LatAm expansion with Chile and Colombia offices”
Irish ambitions: Pinsents eyes Dublin base as UK firms look to capitalise on post-Brexit market
Pinsent Masons is eyeing up a Dublin base, to complement its existing offering in Belfast and provide a full UK and Ireland presence for the firm.
In-house energy switch: senior BG Group lawyer Thomas Smith moves to Centrica
With BG Group having been taken over by Shell for £35bn in February, BG’s deputy general counsel Thomas Smith has departed to become North America energy supply and services general counsel at Centrica.
Continue reading “In-house energy switch: senior BG Group lawyer Thomas Smith moves to Centrica”
Working smarter – eight ideas to upgrade your team
As in-house teams handle more complex work, GCs are coming under pressure to rethink their tactics. Here are eight ideas to upgrade your legal team
Let’s start with an assumption: we will reach peak in-house. Though the in-house profession has hugely expanded over the last 15 years – those in the private sector growing threefold since 2000 to over 16,000 solicitors in England and Wales by 2015 – in-house legal teams cannot keep growing forever.
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GC perspectives: Dan Fitz, BT
I love my career. I haven’t loved it at all times. Over the years it was tough. But over time I became more confident, the anxiety passed and I got into the interesting aspects of what I was doing. I got to enjoy it very much.
Macfarlanes gets the gig as firms line up on Verizon’s $2.4bn purchase of Fleetmatics
Just days after the headline grabbing acquisition of Yahoo!, Goodwin Procter, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, A&L Goodbody and Macfarlanes are among those who have landed roles advising on Verizon’s purchase of Fleetmatics Group.
Revolving doors: Mishcon makes key City hire as K&L Gates boosts Fintech practice
Ahead of the expected summer slowdown, UK firms have made a spate of City hires, with Mishcon de Reya, K&L Gates and Excello Law all recruiting. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Mishcon makes key City hire as K&L Gates boosts Fintech practice”
‘Cut through the noise’: Nextlaw partners with AI firm for Brexit contracts system
In the latest play for Dentons‘ tech joint venture, Nextlaw Labs has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) programme with London IT firm RAVN Systems to assess the impact of the Brexit vote on companies’ contracts.
Growing the Pi: Gibson Dunn and A&O act on improved US offer for Premier Farnell
Allen & Overy (A&O) and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher have advised on an improved bid for UK-based electronics manufacturer Premier Farnell.
Continue reading “Growing the Pi: Gibson Dunn and A&O act on improved US offer for Premier Farnell”
Weightmans performance disappoints as PEP slips 19% and revenue misses £100m target
Weightmans managing partner John Schorah has slapped a £100m revenue target on the firm for 2016/17 after a year of underachievement, with revenue up just 7% in 2015/16 to £95m despite a major merger and a 19% tumble in profit per equity partner (PEP).
Woodward’s deal streak continues as Linklaters takes first instruction for BC Partners in $1.6bn acquisition
Linklaters has landed its first private equity mandate for BC Partners, with private equity star Alex Woodward leading alongside Vincent Ponsonnaille on a $1.6bn deal for a majority stake in Israeli furniture maker Keter Plastic.
Mishcon de Reya City PEP climbs to £1m as firm undergoes Brexit review
High flying City firm Mishcon de Reya has announced robust profits for the 2015/16 financial year, with profit per equity partner up 5% to £1m as revenue in London climbed to £127.9m from £110m.
Continue reading “Mishcon de Reya City PEP climbs to £1m as firm undergoes Brexit review”
Making it in Manhattan: A&O pulls off four-partner finance hire to boost US presence
Allen & Overy (A&O) has made a major addition to its US finance practice with the lateral hire of four partners in New York. The Magic Circle firm took three partners from White & Case, one from Proskauer Rose, as well as adding an associate from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy as partner.